The Blog

High School STEM Students get branded

(Nov. 15, 2016) — Spiro & Associates hosted more than 40 high school STEM students enrolled in Lee County Public Schools for an exercise in personal branding.

Chief Creative Officer Chris Spiro provided the half-day presentation that involved a hands-on exercise designed to identify the high school STEM students personal brand based on their perception of who they are.

The main exercise involved old-school techniques of finding images and text from offline magazines, cutting them out, and pasting them up on small boards.

“These images and words are telltale signs as to what is important to each student,” Spiro said. “It is interesting to see how students react to the workshop in that it opens their eyes a bit about who they are.”

High school STEM students from Island Coast High School in Cape Coral and Estero High School were guests. The Agency’s Brand Architects judged each student’s branding board and selected the top three vote-getters.

The Agency has been working with Lee County Public Schools STEM program for about four years, hosting such workshops for students from all over the county.

While “branding” may seem like an image that only businesses have, individuals like high school STEM students also have their own brand, whether they recognize that or not. From their everyday actions to social media and personal websites, a person’s brand comes across in many shapes and forms.

The Lee Schools Science, Technology, Engineering and Math off-campus pursuits like these offer students the opportunity to tie-in real world business activities with in-class coursework.

Lee County STEM initiatives are funded through the generosity of business partners, offering students the opportunity to participate in field trips and internships as well as experience hands-on activities through partnerships with businesses in the community.

The National Science Foundation estimates that 80 percent of the jobs created in the next decade will require some form of math and science skills.